“A Rugrats Chanukah” is one of the best Hanukkah specials ever made. Period. The show about a rag-tag team of talking babies created one of the most enjoyable retellings of the Hanukkah story in the history of television — and those Maccababies will forever have our hearts.
But now, almost 21 years to the day that life-altering episode first aired (on December 1, 2001, if you must know), a new Rugrats Hanukkah episode will grace our screens. And while nothing will ever take the place of that original special, this new Hanukkah episode will be an exciting celebration of diversity.
According to ET, the episode, titled “Traditions,” will drop on Paramount+ on December 2, 2021, and air on the Nickelodeon channel on December 10. It will walk young viewers through Christmas, Hanukkah and Las Posadas traditions and customs.
In the episode, our baby protagonist Tommy Pickles celebrates his first Hanukkah, which happens to fall on Christmas Eve. (This year, Hanukkah does not coincide with Christmas, but Chrismukkah is definitely a thing).
This meeting of the holidays calls for an interfaith celebration in the Pickles home: Tommy’s mother, Didi, is Jewish, while his father, Stu, is not. It also is a great occasion for a visit from Tommy’s Florida-based Jewish grandparents: Bubbe Minka and Zayde Boris, voiced by Swoosie Kurtz and Henry Winkler, respectively.
As Boris, Winkler will even ad-lib a special Hanukkah prayer in the episode — which is oh-so-thrilling.
The babies also celebrate the hispanic tradition of Las Posadas with Betty and her family.
“[The episode] explains the ABCs of the holidays, and it explores how families with different cultural backgrounds, they come together and they celebrate new and unique traditions,” Cheryl Chase, who dubs Angelica Pickles, told ET.
In a clip from the episode, Tommy spots a Hanukkah menorah and asks the other babies if it’s someone’s birthday.
“No, this is for a Jewish holiday, my mama’s friend at work told me about it and then she gave me pretend coins that are chocolate inside,” Susie responds.
This episode sounds like so much fun! We can’t wait.
